Author Archives: Rod Webb
Sustenance on the Move
ROD WEBB Local charity Sustenance has just been given a boost by the purchase of its first electric van, described as “a huge step forward for our environmental mission and our…
Grand Designs
ROD WEBB talks to Becca Gibb about how she became a florist After school, some people continue their education through college and university; others prefer the school of life. Becca…
The Old Rectory Set to Host Summer Fair Weekend Spectacular
Hastings’ popular boutique hotel, The Old Rectory, announces the return of its Summer FairWeekend taking place on the weekend of the 30th and 31st August. Set within the hotel’s beautiful…
Over 60s Dance Event Takes Hastings by Storm
I had heard there was an afternoon dance club being organised for older people at the Observer Building and made the typical assumption of something rather staid – even though…
Rock Against Racism Rocks the Castle
HIP’s Rod Webb talks to Ruth Gregory co-curator of the Rock Against Racism Exhibition Tour. It may be the end of an era for St Mary in the Castle when it…
David Sansbury: Already Missed
There has been an outpouring of sadness on social media on hearing of the death from cancer of David Sansbury, Landlord of the Horse & Groom. The comments are in…
Where’s Wally Weekender is back
Show off your stripes this spring by signing up for the National Literacy Trust’s iconic Where’s Wally? funrun event. On the weekend of 19 March 2022, hundreds of runners, families…
Not Just an Award-Winning Shop
Articles in the national press about Hastings always cause a stir on social media, and when three local stores got into the Times List of 50 Best Independent Shops in…
Local Offer Relaunched
A Local Offer is a description of the provision made available by local authorities for children and young people from 0-25 with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Every Local…
Amazing Christmas Gift
Staff at a Bexhill-based holiday parks group have been described as “truly amazing” after they donated a whole van-full of gifts to a Hastings food charity. The comment was made…
Music for Wellbeing
The Music Well provides music therapy and musical activities in the community and educational settings in Rye, Bexhill, Rother and Hastings & St Leonards. The aim is to improve outcomes…
Progress on Climate Change or just a Cop Out?
Scientists have known about the dangers of climate change for 50 years. Politicians were slow off the mark, but as far back as 1989, Margaret Thatcher had this to say:…
There’s a crack in everything
I find simple day-to-day things quite difficult, so having a car with a slow puncture was always going to be a challenge. But with prodding from my wife, I managed…
A Genuine Future for St Leonard’s Church?
St Leonard’s Church is a huge asset and yet it appears forgotten and forlorn set back from the seafront where regeneration is happening at an astonishing rate – whether in…
Open Gardens 2021: A Huge Success
For anyone who missed St Michael’s Hospice Open Garden Season, it is well worth putting in your diaries for next year. Not only is it a wonderful opportunity to see…
OPINION
Healthcare in Hastings The news is currently full of stories about food supply shortages – although I haven’t personally encountered that, perhaps because we tend to buy locally where there…
Animating Hastings
Supported by Hastings Museum and Art Gallery, as part of the Hastings Digital Museum programme, Tree Tunnel have created the bare bones of a 30-second animated film celebrating the town…
Festival set to wow Hastings!
Frock up Friday had a modest start. In fact it began because Bev Francis and Susan Simms “just like dressing up”. As Bev said in an article in HIP last…
Alfresco Dining set for Permanent Increase?
You can’t have helped noticing the number of cafes spreading out onto the pavements of Hastings and St Leonards. You’ve probably concluded it’s something to do with the pandemic but…
Blooming Butchery at Warrior Square Station
In what looks an increasingly familiar mix of ‘just doing our job’ and risk management gone haywire, contractors for Southeastern Railway have destroyed a large section of the wildflower meadow…
Beach Shoes Combines Rock and Sole!
Visitors to the Fishermen’s Beach last week might have been baffled to see a group of people – including the Mayor, James Bacon – modelling a fancy new kind of…
Launch of Community Orchard
Church Wood Community Orchard, a new community group, has been busy planting an apple orchard in the grass area in Church Wood, the local nature reserve in Hollington. And it…
Opening Day for Hastings Library of Things
Conceived during lockdown, it has taken time to plan and tofind the perfect venue. But the community group behind Hastings Library of Things thinks it has struck gold by getting…
OPINION
Communication Breakdown? The recent grassroots campaign erupting over tarmacking of some of the seafront pavement – “Civic Butchery”, according to one observer – has been a great success in getting…
Swift Action Brings Results
Hastings and Rother Swift Conservation Group are volunteers dedicated to raising awareness of the plight of the swift. Their aim is to protect and enhance the traditional nesting sites of…
‘The Wind in their Hair’
Residents at Whitebriars Residential Care Home, in Bexhill, East Sussex, recently had a wonderful sunny afternoon enjoying trishaw rides along Bexhill promenade, thanks to Cycling Without Age. This global movement,…
Volunteers Still Needed
Volunteers’ Week was from 1st to 7th June, a time to thank volunteers for all their hard work. But the work goes on, so HIP is spotlighting Hastings Voluntary Action…
Helping Others
The urge to help others is not always as simple as it seems. Is it altruism? Is it something that generates good vibes all round? Is it something darker as…
Funding Boost Helps Ease Covid Debt
Residents facing financial pressure and debt as a result of Covid-19 restrictions can get the support they need thanks to funding of more than £500,000. East Sussex County Council is…
OPINION
Flat Pack Democracy There’s always criticism of local councils and this is reflected in the low turnout in local elections. Quoted in a BBC article in 2019, Rachael Farrington, founder…
Not too Late for National Walking Month
According to Living Streets: “Walking is good for our minds, our bodies and our neighbourhoods and has been a lifeline during the past year, helping people stay active and connected.”…
OPINION: The Fall and Fall of Paula Vennells
Some might wonder why Paula Vennells, part-time priest and previous CEO of Post Offices Ltd, features in a local newspaper,but she has a connection with postmasters and mistresses all over…
News from Heart of Hastings!
Still not clear what the Trinity Triangle is and where it came from? Heart of Hastings (HoH) have just launched a community archive with everything you need to know. The…
Meeting the Duke
The country seems to divide fairly clearly between those who support the monarchy, those who are against the monarchy – and those who aren’t really bothered one way or the…
Environmental Fun in the Sun
Spring is here and if you like beachcombing as well as organis-ing and categorising things, Strandliners could be the group for you. Founded in 2012 and incorporated in 2018 as…
The Importance of Independent Local Journalism
Journalism has come under the spotlight over the last few years, particularly the lack of reliable sources of information in the corporate media. More recently the spotlight has been on…
Exploring Hastings
Social media is full of interesting rabbit holes to investigates but there’s no time to go down them all. One that recently caught my eye was a post by Urban…
576 People Eat the Rainbow to Raise Money
During the Summer months Hastings Adventure Golf created a gelato ice cream to honour our NHS workers. It was a creamy vanilla-based gelato with skittles and coloured syrup throughout, aptly…
Paid work for musicians!
The Trinity Triangle Heritage Action Zone is a four-year, community-led, regeneration programme supported by Historic England to breathe new life into an historic part of Hastings town centre, the Trinity…
Rat invasion?
I’ve already experienced the horrors of rats with two very large rats taking up residence in my house on two separate occasions. Both times it seems that a rat had…